The Book Proposal: Who Are You, And Why Do We Care?
So, tell me a little something about yourself…
A good bio tells your prospective publisher you who are, and why you are uniquely suited to write your book. In fact, the bio should be tailored to your book’s topic, expressing your expert qualifications in the field. When you write this section of the proposal, [...]
The Book Proposal: Manuscript Details
In this section of the proposal, I’m looking to see how deeply the prospective author has considered his or her book. The proposal is a pitch after all, and for us the details certainly matter. I want to know that you are not just thinking “I want to write a book on topic [...]
The Book Proposal: Know Your Competition
“There are no other books like this one.”
“There is no competition for this title.”
Yes there is.
Never leave the Competition section for your book proposal blank, nor should you use statements like the ones above to try to enforce the unique nature of your book. The fact is with more than 190,000 books published each year [...]
The Book Proposal: About the Book
So, what’s your book about?
This section of the proposal is your chance to tell your editor that you really understand what you are working on. This is your “wow” section, and should be thought of as a sales pitch or marketing piece for your book. If it’s written properly, your editor should be able to [...]
The Book Proposal: Introduction
As I mentioned in the Sell Before the Sale, over the course of the next several posts, I’ll be discussing and providing advice on the book proposal process. Specifically, I’ll be referencing my experience in computer and technology publishing but the basic premise should be applicable to many types of non-fiction book proposals.
The proposal [...]
